News

Hogs Profitable In March

Spencer, IA: (Apr. 29, 2014) – Iowa State University estimates the typical Iowa market hog was sold at a profit of $92.35 per head in March, a new monthly record, thanks largely to 14 consecutive months with lower cost of production.

Additionally, USDA says there is less pork in storage than analysts thought. The 575 million pounds in cold storage at the end of March was down more than 11 percent from one year earlier. The large decline in pork stocks is surprising, given the run up in pork prices expected this summer. Frozen bellies, however, are a different story. Stocks are up nearly 55 % over one year earlier.

Hog weights keep setting record highs. Last week’s average live weight of 286.4 pounds marked the fifth consecutive week of record high weights. Figuring the weekly slaughter at 2 million head, the extra tonnage works out to an additional 64,245 hogs each week.